In many military applications, welding is to be performed by a stick electrode in a manner to produce a high yield strength. The stick electrode used in military applications must produce a yield strength in the general range of 85 ksi to 125 ksi. To accomplish such high yield strength, the coating of the stick electrode must have a substantial amount of alloying agents, such as nickel, manganese and molybdenum. The tensile strength for any given alloy is determined by the cooling rate, as it relates to the continuous cooling transformation curve (CCT) of the particular steel alloy. The strength of the weld metal bead as well as the cooling rate sensitivity relates to the composition, as well as the carbon content of the steel and the actual cooling rate for the molten weld metal. It has been found that the cooling rate changes drastically according to the size and preheat of the workpiece and the amount of electrical energy used in the stick welding process. It is desirable to minimize the yield strength sensitivity to the different cooling rates, while maintaining the alloy composition of the weld metal so that the high yield strength in the range of 85 ksi to 125 ksi can be assured in the resulting weld. Consequently, there is a need to create a stick electrode that minimizes the cooling rate sensitivity so the resulting weld is within the high yield strength specification for both an extreme high cooling rate and an extreme low cooling rate.